I was reading a blog entry on Palace of Ilusions, which by now is one of those books that I never fail to recommend to anyone who cares to ask me for an opinion. And it reminded me that I have still not got down to writing my views on “Arranged Marriage” by the same author. (actually coz I dont quite know how to put it)

This is a collection of short stories, and as in the same author’s previous books, the protagonist is a woman/women. Each story is different from the previous one as chalk is from cheese. And each one does not fail to move you. It may not always make you sympathize or rejoice with the character, but definitely puts you into the mind of the character. There is also a certain lack of closure in them, like a “then they lived happily ever after” or a simpler “the end” that it leaves you wondering what happened to them post Chitra wrote about them. In some ways, it reminded me of the famous yesteryears movie “Moondram Pirai” (Tamil) or its Hindi version “Sadma” where you cannot help wonder for long after, what would have been a more suitable ending.

Every book of Chitra’s now seems to be money’s worth that I dont mind spending(sure, a trifle costlier than books of the same genre) for that hardcover edition so that I can preserve them and go back to them on yet another rainy day.